Thread: first sparring session last nite--some advice please?

im 33 yrs old and started beginner no contact boxing classes this past may. i took 2 8 week beginner classes and started an advanced one , 4 week session just before thanksgiving. last nite was the first of 2 sparring classes before the class ends.

im 6'3 probably 260 ish, alot of muscle , some fat could be in better condition but for a guy my size not too bad. ive lost 40 lbs since early october. i was supposed to spar with this other big dude, about 6'1 maybe 270 280, big burly guy but not in great shape or condition. i was confident i would be able to outbox him easily.

as it turn sout, last nite he conspicuously "no showed" for our encounter. the instructor had me spar with 3 other guys. the first guy was pretty tall 6'2 ish 200+ pounds. not strong or sharp and a bit awkward and non athletic. yet i wanst able to hit him at will like i thought . i was able to bully him and rough him up (oh by the way let me add this is a controlled session with just jabs only) , he even quit toward the end of our second one minute round. but i was dissappointed in myself.

one other guy was about 5'10 200+ pounds, built like a fire hydrant. he has 15 yrs martial arts experience and like 5 yrs boxing. he had good faints and was getting in and out on me pretty good. hit me with some body shots that i basically stood there and took on purpose easily and he tagged be good with one quick jab. i was able to pop him a few times when i took my time with some clean jabs to his melon that seemed to shake him a little physically but he was tougha nd undetrred. the third guy was early 20's with , as the teacher put it, "alot of boxing experienece" he was 5'11 ish 190+ maybe with quick hands and feet. he hit me with a clean jab that buzzed me a little and rearranged my head gear a little. i was able to him him real clean with one jab that wobbled all over the gym and nearly put him thru a wal;l. but, he, also was undeterred and came back at me. he worked my body as well but again didnt phase me , i basically took those shots in order to get to him head. i couldnt get to either short dudes body at all.


in sum, what can i do next time out. the last session is jab and hook with the same hand only. overall i didnt do bad. the two real hard shots i took i ate up and the body work had no effect. i know these are smaller guys and so forth (although the older smaller guy looked to have a strong powerlifter type physique) but they are savvy experienced guys who know what they are doing clearly and this was my first time at the dance so to speak.

im nervous about next week. i wanna do better and feel like i should be dominant with my reach and jab and it just didnt go as good as i planned. i gave better than i got (especially against the taller thinner guy, who was a bit skittish and really didnt want to engage as much--but still i couldnt pepper him as clean as i wanted). i would really like to lay some hurt on the smaller quicker experienced guys. i wanna pick up the pace and fight better.

i was forcing the action too a little and was a little nervous admittedly for the first time.

can anyone offer me some help-advice? oh one ore thing, im southpaw and the other fighters are conventional. advice especially with the experienced shorter guys would be great. the other guy i feel i can do better with if i take my time more and hit more to the body and counter.

thans guys-im real nervous about next wek and wanna put opn a better show.

A lot of beginners get frustrated when they first start sparring because it doesn't turn out the way they had thought it would. It takes a lot of time and practice to be able to put what you've learned into action. Just because you are big and have a good reach doesn't mean you have the experience to see openings and pull the trigger. That will come with time.
What I always tell the newbies is to just pick a couple different, and simple, combinations and concentrate on throwing those correctly (whether there is an opening or not) and just keep your defense in mind.

thanks for the reply------yeah i guess seeing how im a big muscular dude i feel extra pressure (or maybe im putting it on myself) to set the world on fire. i feel like my classmates are expecting the same and i dont want to let anyone down.....its stupid but that the kind of personality i have.....

u mentioned defense--thats my main concern---the quicker handed guys who have experience gave me trouble and that botheered me--i feel as a bigger guy i should have pole axed both of them--like i said i did my thing and landed some shots, including the big one that sent the younger guy flying--but i just feel like i should be dominant

any advice on how to cope with the 1-3 combo? (thats the only combo allowed next session) also --any practical advice i could use for an advantage considering im southpaw---which way should i step, etc

thanks again

as sourpuss alluded to, just keep at it. Truth is, you might be big, you might be strong, but you're just not very good yet. But don't worry. nobody ever is. You'll get better every time out. Trust us.

and ps - the goal isn't to WIN or establish your dominance or hurt a guy in sparring. The goal is to help each other get better. ie, work TOGETHER in a trusting way. And frankly, to have fun with it.

So true Von!

I think most people will put pressure on themselves one way or another. I went through a stage where I had a little succes in distance running while competing in boxing was my first priority.

I suddenly felt like it up to me to do well in both perhaps because I felt like a minimum standard was expected from me by my running mentors and training partners. I ended up over or incorrectly training myself until I injured my knee and it was over a year and a half until I could train normally again.

Really I think it was all in my head. People would be happy to see me do well but i set my own priorities.

In your case you don't want to sacrifice enjoyment of sparring now bcause you feel a pressure that isn't really there. Only inexperienced people will expect you to spar perfectly now or within your first say year of sparring.

There was a guy in my old club who i think felt the way you did. He was always talking about how he's so lucky he has this great physical ability etc and he's meant to be great like Ali etc. He actually ended up pulling out every time the coaches made him a match because he felt so much pressure it was too much.

He also did have to dominate in all sparring. He ended up avoiding a more experienced guy in our gym who didn't like his attitude because he would be given more punishment than he could handle by him when sparring.

At the same time he also got the beginner guys in for sparring and didn't really let them feel improvement because he had to lift the intensity of his attack so much when then landed anything. He was so embarassed at being tagged even with a small shot that he had to walk all over them. He should have just done enough to keep his defence and movement working and lifted his aggression one small increment at a time.

In the end the pressure he put on himself to impress everyone actually isolated him in the gym. People either didn't like sparring him because he wouldn't let them work, wanted to spar him to kill him but couldn't because he avoided them or just got the distinct feeling he was completely up himself.

I'm not saying you'd be like that since you seem very eager to take on advice etc but I'm putting it out there as an example of how psychological pressure can work against us just as much as it drives us to succeed if it's channeled incorrectly.

So i'd suggest the following:

• Be proud you've got to the stage where your coaches think you're ready to spar. Many never make it! Yay well done!
• Separate your pride over your physical conditioning from your sparring.

Definately be proud of your fitness - you've worked hard for that and it is good and you do deserve to feel good about it.

You might even be able to give some of the more experienced boxers little pointers occasionally on that which they might appreciate.

Sparring takes more than great physical conditioning to be successful and these skills naturally are improved on a completely different time scale.

As Von pointed out everyone sucks for a long time when they beign sparring - it's 100 % normal and expected no matter how fit you are.

I shudder to tink about how crap my first sparring session must have looked - damn I'm glad there's no video evidence!

Great advice from everyone. Even if you did pole axe one of them it would mean nothing in the end. Concentrate on avoiding and landing (rather obvious I know) and on the things you need to improve on, not just to succed against specific sparring partners, but also visualise what other fighters might be like in the ring with them. For example you're a big guy, but it's very likely at that weight that at least half of your competitive opponents will be taller than you, so you'll need to be aware of styler that your sparring partners won't necessarily have.

thanks guys---i hope i didnt come off like a big a-hole---i really dont wanna hurt anyone in sparring but i feel like the smaller experienced guys i spoke of we're trying to embarrass me alittle and make an example out of me by dancinround and pot shotting me---all i wanna do is get some respect and not get walked over---------

tactically is there something i can do as a southpaw to offset heir speed and footwork

wow. yea...sounds like a lot of battle for a first spar.

Not sure what is going on there. Maybe it is something to do with the format of it and it drawing to a close you think?

I've personally never seen anything like that, for a persons first time...no matter how old, what size or anything. I've seen a few people who went in there for there first time and started head-hunting...then end up getting ganged up on.

Unless you are enjoying it, maybe voice what it is you are looking for, and hoping to get out of it before hand. I just don't think any person starting out should have that sort of pressure and fight mentality. Should be more about getting comfortable moving and throwing, bit of defence.

Originally Posted by LawHoops

thanks guys---i hope i didnt come off like a big a-hole---i really dont wanna hurt anyone in sparring but i feel like the smaller experienced guys i spoke of we're trying to embarrass me alittle and make an example out of me by dancinround and pot shotting me---all i wanna do is get some respect and not get walked over---------

tactically is there something i can do as a southpaw to offset heir speed and footwork

you just keep working on basics, keeping your hands nice and high, and do as the trainers tell you, and trust me, you'll get respect in NO TIME.

its nowhere easy as it looks,
just relax and try to hit them quickly not with power just get your jab going